Friday, 15 March 2013

Hope Not Hate, the ostensibly anti-fascist campaign group, is wringing its hands over the rise of UKIP and is asking visitors to its website whether they should oppose UKIP even though in their own words "they are not a fascist or far right group".

What Hope Not Hate are effectively asking is should they abandon their their raison d'etre (look guys, a foreign word) and focus on opposing anyone who isn't on the far left - basically turn themselves into another clone of the ironically named far left fascist group, Unite Against Fascism.

There is a feedback form on their website for people to give their views. If you do so, remember that Hope Not Hate do not target UKIP at the moment and don't believe the party is "far right" or fascist so don't go there ranting and giving them the false impression that we are a party of angry right wing nutters. They are asking for opinions, not declaring war.

Here is my submission:

UKIP's opposition to mass immigration is based on maths, not racism or xenophobia. There aren't enough jobs and houses for the people who already live here so it is ridiculous to allow more people to move here until homelessness and joblessness is got under control.

UKIP's opposition to multiculturalism isn't down to racism or xenophobia, it's what is right for both the people already living here and people who move here from overseas. The causal racism of the 60s and 70s was clearly wrong but the expectation that immigrants would learn to speak English and attempt to integrate with society wasn't. Older generations of immigrants generally speak English, mix well with people outside of their own "community" and think of themselves as English rather than their "native" identity. Not speaking English or understanding and embracing our existing culture and values leads to voluntary segregation and prevents immigrants from becoming productive members of society.

Neither opposition to immigration or multiculturalism is about hate and division, it's about being fair to the people who already live in this country (regardless of whether they can trace their ancestry back to Alfred the Great or whether they arrived in the country last month) and building an inclusive society rather than one that is increasingly segregated along racial and religious lines.

About the author:Stuart Parr is a UKIP parish councillor for the Brookside ward of Stirchley & Brookside Parish Council in Telford & Wrekin and the founder and administrator of Bloggers4UKIP.Stuart writes a personal blog Wonko's World and tweets as @wonkotsane.